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HEARINGS 




BEFORE THE 

COMMITTEE ON MILITARY ARE AIRS 

C*aa <rc S i , 

L'NITED STATES SENATE 

// A 

SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS 

THIRD SESSION 


ON 


H. R. 13306 


TO AUTHORIZE THE PAYMENT OF ALLOTMENTS OUT OF THE PAY 
OF ENLISTED MEN IN CERTAIN CASES IN WHICH THESE . 
PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED. 


JANUARY 14, 1919. 






WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
1919 












V 


COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS. 

GEORGE E. CHAMBERLAIN, of Oregon, Chairman. 


GILBERT M. HITCHCOCK, of Nebraska. 
DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, of Florida. 
HENRY L. MYERS, of Montana. 
CHARLES S. THOMAS, of Colorado. 
MORRIS SHEPPARD, of Texas. 

J. C. W. BECKHAM, of Kentucky. 
WILLIAM F. KIRBY, of Arkansas. 
JAMES A. REED, of Missouri. 

KENNETH D. McKELLAR, of Tennessee. 


FRANCIS E. WARREN, of Wyoming. 

JOHN W. WEEKS, of Massachusetts. 

JAMES W. WADSWORTH, Jr., of New York. 
HOWARD SUTHERLAND, of West Virginia. 
HARRY S. NEW, of Indiana. 

JOSEPH S. FRELINGHUYSEN, of New Jersey. 
HIRAM W. JOHNSON, of California. 
PHILANDER C. KNOX, of Pennsylvania. 


HOKE SMITH, of Georgia. 


Caralyn B. Shelton, Clerk. 

S. W. McIntosh, Assistant Clerk. 


97 ef ». 

SEP 5 |9|9 


2 


ALLOTMENTS FROM PAY OF ENLISTED MEN. 


TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1919. 

United States Senate, 

Committee on Military Affairs, 

Washington, D. C. 

The committee met at 11.15 o’clock a. in., the committee room, 
Capitol, Senator George E. Chamberlain presiding. 

Present: Senators Chamberlain (chairman), Fletcher, Thomas, 
Beckham, Kirby, McKellar, Warren, Weeks, Sutherland, New, Fre- 
linghuysen, and Knox. 

The committee had under consideration the following bill: 


[H. R. 13306', Sixty-fifth Congress, third session.] 

A BILL To authorize the payment of allotments out of the pay of enlisted men in certain cases in which 
these payments have been discontinued. 

Whereas in the act known as the act to authorize the establishment of the Bureau of 
War Risk Insurance in the Treasury Department, provision was made for the pay¬ 
ment of allotments to the beneficiaries indicated in a proper authority of allotment 
by the men enlisted in the military service of the United States; and 
Whereas under this provision many enlisted men filed the proper papers authorizing 
such payments with the Bureau of War Risk Insurance; and 
Wherease in these cases and pursuant to this authority payments were regularly made 
to the beneficiaries up to July first, nineteen hundred and eighteen, by this bureau; 
and 

Whereas as of that date the payment of allotments not carrying allowances was 
ordered to be discontinued by the Quartermaster General of the United States 
Army pending the receipt of a new authority of allotment from the enlisted man; and 
Whereas many of these new authorities have never been received by the Quarter¬ 
master General, owing to the inability of the parties in interest to communicate 
with the soldiers; and 

Whereas this discontinuance of the payment of these duly authorized allotments has 
operated to the very great detriment and suffering, in many cases, of the allottees: 
Now, therefore 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 
in Congress assembled, That in all of those cases in which an authority of allotment by 
an enlisted man directing the payment of an indicated amount to a designated bene¬ 
ficiary is on file in the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, and payments pursuant to this 
authority had been made by said bureau prior to July first, nineteen hundred and 
eighteen, but which payments were discontinued as of that date, the Quartermaster 
General is directed to resume the payment of allotments in these cases, pursuant to 
the authority on file as aforesaid, pending the receipt of a new authority, or of a written 
rescission of the old authority from the enlisted man. In those cases in which pending 
the receipt of the new authority, the military authorities, beginning with July first, 
nineteen hundred and eighteen, have reserved from month to month out of the sol¬ 
dier’s monthly accruing pay, the amount directed to be paid by the original authority 
of allotment, the Quartermaster General, upon resuming the payment of allotments 
in such cases, under the authority of this act, shall pay all arrearages out of these 
respective reservations. 

The Chairman. The committee will be very glad to hear you, 
Mr. Saunders? 


103154—19 


3 



4 


ALLOTMENTS FROM PAY OP ENLISTED MEN. 


STATEMENT OF HON. EDWARD W. SAUNDERS, A REPRESENT¬ 
ATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF VIRGINIA. 

Mr. Saunders. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, the matter that I 
desire to bring up is a matter that affects every State in the Union, 
and I think when I shall have presented the facts, there will be no 
opposition to the bill. 

The bill is House bill 13306, and relates to the payment of dis¬ 
continued soldiers’ allotments. The members of the committee will 
remember that under the Bureau of War Risk Insurance act, when 
authority was given to the soldiers to make allotments, it was provided 
with respect to a certain character of these allotments, namely, in case 
of dependents, that the allotments should be followed up with 
allowances which would be paid out of the Treasury. It was further 
provided in the bill, which the committee is familiar with, that the 
payments of allotments should be made under regulations that were 
to be made by the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy. 
Pursuant to authority given by that bill, hundreds of thousands of 
soldiers made their allotments, and under the regulations these respec¬ 
tive cases were adjudicated and payments began on the same allot¬ 
ments, spme of them carrying allowances-under the law and others 
not. 

Payments were made under this situation of affairs up to July 1 
of the year 1918, and just about that time some negotiations or 
conferences took place between the Bureau of War Risk Insurance 
and the War Department and the Navy Department. I am unable 
to find out exactly who was responsible for the action that was taken, 
but that is not material. Action was taken, and the action taken 
was that the War Department took over the payment of all soldiers’ 
allotments that did not carry allowances. There was no objection 
to that because the allotments not carrying an allowance came 
exclusively out of the soldiers’ pay, and the jurisdiction in respect to 
that properly belonged to the War Department. If they had taken 
up the payment of those cases as I have said, there would have been 
no objection to it, because everything then would have proceeded 
regularly and smoothly as far as the allottees are concerned. But 
when they came to deal with the situation they discontinued every 
existing allotment and the payment of them and provided for a new 
authority of allotment, and until that new authority of allotment was 
received by the War Department no payments were made to the 
allottees under the old authority. Now, the demand for a new au¬ 
thority was by order of the War Department, and there have been 
many thousands of them which have never been filed. 

The Chairman. Seventy thousand, I hear. 

Mr. Saunders. It seems to be impossible to find out how many, 
but there are many, many thousands of cases of allotments not 
carrying allowances, with respect to which no new authorities have 
been received by the War Department, and in every one of those cases 
the payment of allotments has been discontinued, and they have been 
discontinued now for something like six months. 

The Chairman. I believe the claim is, Judge, is it not, that they 
misconstrued the statute as to dependencies? 

Mr. Saunders. This had nothing to with dependencies. My bill 
does not deal with dependencies at all. 


ALLOTMENTS FROM PAY OF ENLISTED MEN. 


5 


Senator Warren. Is it your claim that they are retaining these 
allotments not paid, to be paid to the soldiers themselves ? 

Mr. Saunders. I make that claim with respect to all cases in 
which allotments have been made and the discontinuance exists. 

Senator Warren. And they will pay to the men? 

Mr. Saunders. That is the next step. I do not know whether in 
some cases they pay full pay to the soldiers or not. 

The Chairman. Why did they discontinue all these allotments? 

Mr. Saunders. They never have been able to offer any sufficient 
reason why that was done, but the fact remains that it was done, 
that every allotment in progress of payment as of July 1 last was 
discontinued. 

The Chairman. And they made no allotments at all? 

Mr. Saunders. They provided for a new authority in each case, 
and to secure that new authority, which was to be furnished on a 
War Department form, they sent out notices. 

The Chairman. So it required them all to make an application? 

Mr. Saunders. It required every one to make a new application, 
and until this new application or new authority of allotment was 
received, payments under the old authority of allotment were dis¬ 
continued. 

Now, that is the state of the record. The Secretary of War has 
undertaken to say that there are a few of these cases. There are 
literally thousands of them. There is not a Member of Congress 
whose files are not choked with letters from allottees claiming that 
they have not received allotments from July 1 last, although prior 
to that time the allotments were being regularly paid to them. 

Senator Kirby. Does the information you have go further to show 
that since the allottees have quit receiving pay because of a new allot¬ 
ment being required, that the soldier himself has not received entire 
pay? 

Mr. Saunders. As I said a moment ago, I can not ascertain as to 
that, but I have brought here a few typical letters. I do not know 
in how many cases the soldier has been paid and in how many cases 
he has not been paid, but I have a number of letters in which the 
soldier writes to the allottee inquiring whether they have been receiv¬ 
ing their allotment or not, and stating that the amount he has 
regularly taken out of his pay. 

Senator Sutherland. Have they not asked some of the allottees 
to pay back ? 

Mr. Saunders. That relates to a different situation. 

Senator Sutherland. Many of them seem to be simply matters of 
form rather than actual errors. 

Mr. Saunders. That related to a different situation. The situa¬ 
tion with which my bill deals is simply with respect to cases of allot¬ 
ment not carrying allowances which were in progress of payment as 
of July 1, last, which had in each case necessarily been adjudicated, 
and with resepct to which there is already on file in the Bureau of 
War Risk Insurance sufficient authority for the allotment from the 
soldier. 

Senator Warren. Have you made inquiry of the Department, and 
if so, what answers have you received from it ? 

Mr. Saunders. The department admits that the discontinuance has 
been effected. It seems to be difficult to find out who is primarily 


6 


ALLOTMENTS FROM PAY OF ENLISTED MEN. 


responsible for the discontinuance, so I have for the present discon¬ 
tinued my inquiries into that. The fact remains that they have been 
discontinued. 

Senator Warren. You are not certain whether it started with the 
Treasury Department or the War Department? 

Mr. Saunders. Or the War Risk Insurance Bureau. I imagine it 
must be the War Department. 

Senator Fletcher. Do you need legislation to accomplish that ? 

Mr. Saunders. Yes; the situation is this- 

Senator Fletcher. It looks to me as if it might be adjusted without 
legislation., 

Mr. Saunders. But they do not do it. This situation has been in 
progress for six months. I will say with respect to the legislation 
that the Secretary of War, after we had this bill brought into the 
House and discussed before the committee and then passed through 
the House, the Secretary said that he had no objection to the passage 
of this bill. 

Now, the bill is this: That in every case of soldiers’ allotments, 
which were in progress of payment as of July last, now payment shall 
be resumed. The bill only takes in the adjudicated cases, as I said a 
moment ago. I do not raise any question as to those other cases that 
there may be some possible controversy about, but all cases as of July 
1 last in which payments were in process of being made and were dis¬ 
continued and are included in the bill. Whoever may have been 
responsible for the order is immaterial. 

Senator Warren. If it was discontinued by the soldier himself, 
that does not apply ? 

Mr. Saunders. No, sir; because the bill provides that in case of 
rescision by authority of the'soldier there should be no resumption 
of payment. In cases, as I have said, the War Department will 
resume the payment of the allotments. 

Senator Kirby. As of what date ? 

Mr. Saunders. They will be resumed the payment as of the date 
of the passage of this act. 

Senator Warren. Would they resume payments of the pay back 
to the old time ? 

Mr. Saunders. No, sir. 

Senator Warren. They would commence now? 

Mr. Saunders. They would only pay back as of the old time in one 
phase of the situation, which I will explain- 

Senator Beckham. Arrears? 

Mr. Saunders. The arrears. This bill further provides in these 
cases—and there are many of them, how many it is impossible for 
us or you to ascertain—but there are many of these cases; I have a 
few, as I have said, typical letters here that I brought this morning, 
in which reservation has been made from the soldier’s pay, and in 
those cases beginning as of July 1 last the War Department has 
reserved out of the soldier’s pay the amount of the allotment. So 
that the arrears are in the hands of the War Department. This bill 
provides in those cases that arrearages shall be paid as well as the 
allotment from that time forward. 

Now, that is the scope of the bill, and it deals only with that situa¬ 
tion of facts. 

The Chairman. There is no charge of fraud, is there? 




ALLOTMENTS FROM PAY OF ENLISTED MEN. 


7 


Mr. Saunders. No, sir; there is no question of fraud, because, as 
I say, I simply deal with those cases in which this Government dis¬ 
continued the payment of adjudicated cases. 

The Chairman. Pardon me a moment. Does not the Secretary 
of War know where this error originated? 

Mr. Saunders. I suppose it can be ascertained. There seems to 
have been a controversy. 

The Chairman. But he ought to know without inquiry. 

Mr. Saunders. I was clearly of the opinion, as the result of the 
letters I was getting, that the discontinuance originated in the 
initiative of the War Department, but that is challenged, so I do not 
go into that. 

The Chairman. It must have been initiated by him. He is the 
head of the department and I should think he would know. 

Senator Kirby. The Treasury Department had the payment of 
this in hand, had it not ? 

Mr. Saunders. The jurisdiction of payment of allotments not 
carrying allowances belongs to the War Department—that particular 
jurisdiction—and if the Treasury Department was paying any of 
them, they were only paid by the general regulations agreed upon by 
the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of War jointly. Now, 
that is the status of the matter. 

Senator Fletcher. How about the next phase of the bill? 

Mr. Saunders. I am dealing only with those cases in which the 
War Department from July last has reserved the amount of the 
allotment out of the soldier’s pay. In those cases of course the 
arrearages ought to be paid, but the arrearages are not to be paid in 
any other case. 

Now, just one word in addition. There is no difficulty in this 
matter, for the reason that in each one of these cases there is on file 
in the Bureau of War Risk Insurance the authority for the allotment 
from the soldiers, and the War Department can either have that 
authority bodily transferred into the quartermaster’s office or can 
secure a copy for its own purpose, and then upon that proceed to 
make payments for the future. 

Senator McKellar. Have you your bill here with you ? 

Mr. Saunders. Yes; it is here. 

Senator Kirby. The bill seems to me to be fair and right, but here 
is the proposition of accounting. In paying these arrearages where 
the money has been retained from the soldier’s pay, would it not be 
necessary before that could be paid to get the soldier’s account from 
where he has been paid and verify what the amount on hand is ? 

Mr. Saunders. That is in the War Department. 

Senator Kirby. Is that already here ? 

Mr. Saunders. That is already in the War Department. 

Senator Kirby. Is that in the War Department here, or across 
the seas? 

Mr. Saunders. I do not know that. 

Senator Kirby. Of course, it would not be paid until that was 
done anyway. 

Mr. Saunders. It could not be paid until that was done, and I will 
say with reference to the allotments furnished on new authority 
that where they are procured they are going ahead and paying them. 

Senator Kirby. Of course; I understand that. 


8 


ALLOTMENTS FROM PAY OF ENLISTED MEN. 


Mr. Saunders. And here is an accumulation—oh, it is possibly mil¬ 
lions—here of money that is due to these soldiers, and that has not been 
paid. If I could ascertain the number of allottees I could very easily 
give you, by simple calculation, how much of this arrearage is due. The 
other day I was in New York, and the attorney for the Red Cross, hav¬ 
ing seen something about this bill in the papers, asked me to have a 
conference with him, and he called at my room and said he wished I 
would come around to the service section of the Red Cross in New York 
to see the thousands of cases of this sort that they had of widows and 
mothers who are entitled to these allotments, which have been dis¬ 
continued as of July last. 

Senator Warren. And undoubtedly a good many have since then 
made efforts to have it adjusted, and I can imagine that there will 
be a great many of those in hospitals and elsewhere scattered all 
over the country. 

Mr. Saunders. Yes, in many cases. 

Senator Warren. You had to have something from the soldier 
himself to start in with? 

Mr. Saunders. As I have said, I am not dealing in this bill with 
any cases, except those in which they have authority from the soldiers, 
which is on file with the War Risk Insurance Bureau. The War De¬ 
partment stated those papers were not in their files, which was the 
reason for their being discontinued; that otherwise they could dispose 
of them very readily. 

Senator Kirby. Suppose they would not let them have it; the 
Treasury Department would necessarily pay out the money on that 
as a voucher. 

Mr. Saunders. There is a statute by which the President could 
transfer those records bodily. But that does not occasion any real 
difficulty, when they can secure copies of the original records from 
which payments had been made. They could have continued these 
payments upon copies of the original authorities of allotment and 
made payments there until the new authority was received. I will 
say that I have covered that matter very carefully. My bill provides: 

In those cases in which pending the receipt of the new authority the military au¬ 
thorities, beginning with July first, nineteen hundred and eighteen, have reserved 
from month to month out of the soldier’s monthly accruing pay the amount directed 
to be paid by the original authority of allotment, the Quartermaster General upon 
resuming the payment of allotments in such cases, under the authority of this act, 
shall pay all arrearages out of these respective reservations. 

I thank the committee very much for its attention. 

STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM B. BANKHEAD, A REPRE¬ 
SENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF ALABAMA. 

Mr. Bankhead. Mr. Chairman, and gentlemen of the committee, I 
think Judge Saunders has very fully stated to the committee the 
urgent necessity for early, and we trust favorable, action upon this 
bill by the Committee on Military Affairs of the Senate. I am sure 
that the mail of every Senator, as Judge Saunders has suggested, is 
full of such complaints from allottees, with reference to the effect 
of this order that was made effective July 1, transferring the juris¬ 
diction of the payment of these allotments from the Bureau of War 
Risk Insurance to the Quartermaster General’s Office, as he has 
stated. We never have been able to ascertain definitely upon what 


ALLOTMENTS FROM PAY OF ENLISTED MEN. 


9 


authority that change was made. Some effort has been made to 
justify it by the assumption that there was some amendment passed 
by Congress to the original war-risk act, which required it upon the 
part of the Quartermaster General’s office, but that is not true. We 
feel that the bill which has been introduced by Judge Saunders, and 
which passed the House without a single dissenting vote, corrected 
the situation, and it is one of apparently such imperious necessity 
that all I want to say is—and I am sure I express the sentiment of 
every Member of the House—that there is an earnest desire on the 
part of these allottees, many of whom are in desperate circumstances 
on account of this confusion, that your committee will give the matter 
as early consideration and action as possible. 

The Chairman. We thank you gentlemen for your statements. 
The committee will consider the bill in executive session. 

(The committee at this point suspended further hearing on the 
allotment matter.) 


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